8

“Is that Clayton Taggart’s voice?” Jackie whispered furiously as she darted into the kitchen.

“Yes” was Eddie’s casual reply. “He came to meet Robert.” She was making some refreshments for her guests and continued to do so calmly.

“But I thought he was out of town!”

“He was, but he made a special trip home because I told him Robert would be here.”

Jackie dropped into a chair as though the world had come to an end. Seeing her face, Eddie wiped her hands and sat down across from her sister.

“Jackie, will you please tell me why you have such a problem with Tag?”

Jackie sighed. “I just don’t like him.”

“You sound like a five-year-old.”

Jackie’s face flushed with rage, but Eddie put a hand in the air.

“You don’t have to buddy up to him, Jackie, but this outrage every time he’s near or offers you a ride from school is wrong.” Eddie placed strong emphasis on the last word, but the younger girl calmed upon hearing her sister’s kind voice.

“Have you prayed about this, Jackie?”

“No,” she admitted.

“Then do so,” Eddie urged her. “Take some time right now. Robert and Tag are just getting to know each other. He’ll probably be here for the better part of the afternoon and tomorrow after church as well. You could join us if you’d come to grips with your feelings.”

Jackie nodded, and Eddie knew she had said enough. She loaded a serving tray with the good china plates and cups, and then added napkins, knives and spoons, cream, sugar, butter, a full pot of tea, and some freshly baked scones. Her Aunt Lacey always served tea and scones, and Eddie had a taste for them often. She hoped Robert would enjoy them too. She glanced at the table as she left, but Jackie hadn’t moved or spoken. Indeed, Jackie was not even aware of her sister’s departure.

I don’t have to have a reason to hate him, she told herself. I just do and that’s that! She then remembered her sister’s admonition to pray. Jackie sighed in the stillness of the room.

She knew her attitude was wrong. Her mother was kind to everyone, but her father only bothered with people he liked. She knew her father was wrong to be so hard at times, but what could you do if you just didn’t like someone?

Suddenly Clayton’s eyes came to mind, and the way they looked the night her family had gone to the Taggarts’ for dinner. At the beginning of the evening they’d been laughing, teasing eyes, but then after the incident in the barn, his eyes had been serious. He still looked at her in a way that told her he thought she was pretty, but the teasing glint and some of the friendliness was gone.

“It’s just as well,” Jackie stood and spoke to herself, her decision made. “I don’t want to have anything to do with him anyhow.”

Clayton walked back up the road to his house feeling very pleased that he’d made the effort to come home. Robert Langley was as fine a fellow as Clayton had met in a long time. There had been no awkwardness between them, no time of testing; they’d hit it off in the first five minutes. And it had done nothing but good for Clayton’s heart to see the way Robert looked at Eddie. She was so lovely and sweet, and God had truly blessed her with a man who would obviously cherish all the love in her heart.

Milly and Elaine were waiting with dinner on the table when Clayton got home, and he was enthusiastic in his telling of Robert and Eddie. Milly thought it was the most romantic thing she ever heard, but Elaine had another thought.

“Maybe the Lord will lead you to teach school in Boulder someday, and you can see more of Robert Langley.”

Clayton hadn’t thought of it, but he smiled his appreciation at his mother. They bowed their heads to pray for the meal, but Clayton was a bit distracted. Why had the thought of teaching in Boulder made him wonder where Jackie would be living by then? He nearly shook his head. He hadn’t seen her all day, and thinking of her in that way now seemed odd to him. A moment later he dismissed it; he was probably still just pondering the way she’d responded that night in the barn. Well, he’d done everything he could to make things right. It was up to her if she wanted to have anything to do with him.

“I can’t believe you have to leave tomorrow.”

Eddie and Robert were walking hand-in-hand along Clear Creek, the sun was sinking in the sky, and the sound of the rushing water caused Eddie to raise her voice slightly. Robert heard her quite clearly, but as hard as it was for him to leave, he didn’t comment. Right now he just wanted to be near the woman he loved, holding her hand and not thinking about a six-month separation.

“Do you think the time will go by swiftly?” Eddie asked.

“That all depends.”

“On what?”

“On the time of day. When I’m at the bank, at my desk or even overseeing a teller’s window, the hours will fly by, but in the evening when I’ll wonder what you’re doing and if you had a good day, the time will drag.” Robert stopped then and pulled Eddie close with one hand. With his free hand he traced the line of her brows and then drew his fingers down her cheek until he had taken gentle hold of her chin.

“I love you, Eddie, and I don’t want you to forget that for one second.”

“I won’t. You won’t forget my love, will you?”

“Not for an instant. And when I come again, we’ll be husband and wife.”

With that he caught her in both arms and kissed her. There were houses along the creek, but the trunk and branches of a large tree sheltered their tender kiss of love and anxiousness, and when they broke apart to walk back to the house, Eddie’s thoughts went again to the forthcoming wedding.

“Are you certain your family won’t come?”

“Quite certain. When I return to Boulder I’ll write and let them know how things worked out, but it’s such a long way from Pennsylvania, and my mother is not in the best of health. She’ll want us to visit as soon as we’re able. I know they’re looking forward to meeting you, so we’ll go soon after we’re married.”

“What if I’m expecting right away?”

“I hope you will be, and if that’s the case, we’ll wait and the three of us will go.”

“What if it’s twins?” Eddie asked, and Robert laughed because he knew she was being outrageous.

“In that case,” he was outrageous in return, “we’ll leave one of the babies with a neighbor so it will still just be the three of us.”

Now Eddie laughed as well. As they neared the house, they heard Jackie’s voice in the yard. She appeared to be waiting for them, and indeed she was, hands on her waist.

“I know you want him all to yourself, Eddie, but this is Robert’s last night, and we want to visit with him too.”

“All right,” Eddie’s hands went in the air as though in surrender. “I just had to get him away for a little while so you could do my job with dinner.”

Jackie smiled hugely. “Well, it worked. Mother roped me in as soon as I came through the kitchen.”

Eddie liked that a lot, but Robert turned on some mock sympathy. He put an arm around Jackie and walked her toward the house. His voice was full of fun when he asked, “She’s very cruel to you, isn’t she, Jackie?”

“Who? Mother or Eddie?”

“Both.”

“Yes,” Jackie told him emphatically and just barely held her laugher. “They all are. I’m under such persecution.”

Robert laughed. Sammy darted from the house right then and took Robert’s free hand. Eddie held back just a few steps so she could watch him walk with her sisters.

I never thought about how he would feel about my sisters, Lord, but this is so special. He brings out the best in all of us. I don’t know how I’ll stand it when he leaves in the morning.

With that Eddie slowly made her way inside, determining to throw off any hint of sadness. This was Robert’s last night, and she needed to make the best of it. After all, she had only a week of memories to carry her for the next six months.

“Now,” Addy spoke with determination. “I decided to get you a Christmas gift from the catalog, Eddie. It won’t arrive before Christmas, and I’m going to have it mailed directly to Robert because it’s for your new home.” Addy set a Montgomery Ward catalog in her daughter’s lap. “You choose which mantel clock you want.”

“A mantel clock? Oh, Mother, are you certain?”

“Indeed I am. With the changes happening in the economy, I’m sure things are going to be tight in the days to come, but your father and I discussed it last night and he said you’re to have the one you want. It can go over the fireplace in your bedroom, the one in the living room, or that wonderful fireplace you wanted in the entryway.”

Eddie gave the older woman a hug before they bent their heads over the pages.

“Which one do you suppose Robert would like?”

“I don’t know, Eddie,” she said thoughtfully. “You could pick out a few you like—you know, circle them and then tear the pages out and send them to Robert. He could mark the ones he likes and send them back. I know it’s supposed to be a Christmas gift, but you won’t be married for three more months, and that’s more than enough time to pick out what you like.”

“All right,” Eddie agreed, and again both turned to the pages before them.

“That’s pretty,” Addy said as she pointed to one of the clocks.

“Oh, Mother, that’s a Seth Thomas, and it’s almost $7!”

“Your father said you were to have the one you wanted, Eddie.”

Eddie chewed her lip. “I really should mark more than one.”

“Not if you only like one.”

“I like this one too, but it’s $8.”

“Mark them both,” Addy said decisively and stood. “I have a dozen things to do before the girls come home from school, so you go ahead and take care of it, Eddie. I’m sure Robert will be pleased either way.”

Addy left the kitchen then, but Eddie just sat. It was hard to imagine how their home would look and even harder to see the clock on a fireplace that existed only in her mind, but it wasn’t at all hard to see that she and Robert were going to be very happy.

“Now, Jacqueline,” Miss Bradley spoke clearly. “It’s your turn to recite the original 13 colonies in the order they were admitted to the union, and also their capitals. Please come forward and face the class.”

Jackie did so without fuss or nerves. She had worked long and hard with this memorization, and she knew them all by heart. However, Jackie didn’t count on the way she would feel when every eye in the class was trained on her. It wasn’t the admiring looks she received from some of the boys; it was the looks of dislike that many of the girls gave her. In order to get started, Jackie dropped her eyes to the floor in front of her.

“The capital of Delaware is Dover. The capital of Pennsylvania is Harrisburg. The capital of New Jersey is—”

“Look at the class, please,” Miss Bradley interrupted from the rear.

Jackie raised her eyes and swallowed hard. “The capital of New Jersey is Trenton. The capital of Georgia is …” Here she faltered. She tried to keep her eyes glued to her teacher, but they kept darting about the room. Jackie felt her face turn red, and Miss Bradley suggested kindly that she begin again.

Jackie thanked her with a smile and started out all right, but faltered again at Georgia. She knew all of these, but her mind had suddenly gone blank. She wanted to tell the teacher, but she couldn’t find those words, either. Her heart sank when after several strained minutes Miss Bradley rose and moved to her desk.

“Come here, Jacqueline.” Her voice was stern. Jackie turned, thankful at least that her back was to the class, and stood before her teacher.

“I am very disappointed. You have had weeks to learn these.” Her voice wasn’t angry, but Jackie knew it would do no good to try to explain.

“Hold out your hand.”

Jackie did as she was told, and her entire body convulsed as the ruler came down across her knuckles five times. She thought her hand would break with each blow.

“Return to your seat.”

Jackie did so, her eyes blinded by tears. She didn’t look at anyone or lay her head on her desk and sob as she longed to do, but sat looking straight ahead at the portrait of George Washington, blinking rapidly to dispel the moisture. Miss Bradley began to say something to the class but then faltered. Jackie would have been surprised to know that her own sister had caused the stumble. Lexa was looking at Miss Bradley with something akin to hatred.

“Mitch,” Morgan called into the back room. “Have we received that order from Denver?”

“Not yet. I expect the snow has something to do with the holdup.”

Morgan came into the room now, and Mitch turned to look at him. The light from the window shone full in his face for several seconds, and Mitch was alarmed by how tired and old he looked.

“You know, Morgan, I didn’t ask you to join me in Georgetown so you could work yourself into an early grave.”

“Why,” Morgan asked with a grin, “am I looking half dead?”

“What time did you come in this morning?”

Morgan shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”

His avoidance of the answer told Mitch that the noise he’d heard around 4:00 A.M. was Morgan arriving for work. The older man slowly shook his head.

“We have different strengths, Morgan, and I’m thankful for that. You’re more aggressive than I am, but we’re not going to starve if you take a little time off. You’ve been down here every day since you arrived in July. I live right upstairs, but I’ve never had the desire to be here as often as you do. I really think you need to slow down, spend some more time at home. Eddie will be leaving in three months. Take as much time with her as you can.”

“That’s just it, Mitch.”

“What is?”

“Eddie’s leaving. It’s shown me that I won’t have my children here forever. I need to be sure I’m established now, while I’m still young enough to do the work. They won’t be around forever, so I’ve got to see to Addy and myself on my own.”

Mitch’s heart ached. If only you were seeing to eternity the way you see to this life on earth, Morgan. My heart would find rest knowing you’re going to be with me up there.

“Do you ever think about the folks?” Morgan asked out of the blue.

“Yes. I think about them a lot.”

“So do I. They nearly worked themselves to death in their old age. That’s why I’m working now.”

Both men were silent for a moment.

“At least they’re at rest now.”

“Are they, Morgan?”

“What do you mean?” The younger man frowned at Mitch.

“I’m just saying I’m not sure.”

“Well, of course they’re at rest,” Morgan said a bit testily. “They were good people. They deserve to be in heaven.”

“Is that really what you believe, Morgan? That good people go to heaven?”

“Well, of course. Don’t you?”

“No.”

The single word hung between them for several uncomfortable seconds, and then the bell sounded at the door that led to the hardware.

“I’ll get it.” Morgan spoke quietly, but when he turned away his face did not hold his usual enthusiasm for any and all customers.